I picked up And Then There Were None off my parents' shelf when I was probably about thirteen. It was my first Agatha Christie, and I was instantly entranced by her ability to build suspense, write witty dialogue, and plot the perfect murder. As I grew up I continued reading her prolific work, while, like her, making writing my career. When we decided to write our sixth book in the Science of Horror series, we wanted to step out of “horror” and explore more the mystery genre, and we knew Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, was the perfect point of view. The Science of Agatha Christie was born.
I wrote...
The Science of Agatha Christie: The Truth Behind Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and More Iconic Characters from the Queen of Crime
Through interviews, literary and film analysis, and bone-chilling discoveries, The Science of Agatha Christie uncovers the science behind the sixty-six detective novels and fourteen short story collections that have become an integral part of the modern murder mystery, answering such questions as:
What is the science behind the poisons used to commit murders in Agatha Christie’s stories? When did crime investigation become more common as seen in Murder on the Orient Express? Has science made it possible to uncover the truth behind the investigative powers of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple? How did Agatha Christie use isolated settings to best explore the psychology of her characters?
During research for my book, I came across her own autobiography, which was a rare treat. It made me feel closer to her as I studied her life, getting to read events in her own voice.
Christie was a formidable woman with a life well lived, so hearing her take on her own characters and books was fascinating. She was quite self-effacing, and even admits to being annoyed with Hercule Poirot! I recommend this book for fans of her, of course, but also for aspiring writers.
Back in print in the exclusive authorized edition, is the engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery.” Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative account of one of the world’s most influential and fascinating novelists, told in her own words and inimitable style. The New York Times Book Review calls Christie’s autobiography a “joyful adventure,” saying, “she brings the sense of wonder...to her extraordinary career.”
This one isn’t as popular as her more well-known novels like Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None, but it is one of my favorites.
I read it for the first time when I was sixteen, and I can still remember my initial shock at the twist ending. Christie was an expert at mystery tropes, but she was also adept at flipping them, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a prime example. There is also a radio recording of this novel you can find on YouTube that I also highly recommend.
The classic "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", finally at a fair price!The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in June 1926 in the United Kingdom. It is the third novel to feature Hercule Poirot as the lead detective.
In 2013, the British Crime Writers' Association voted it the best crime novel ever.
This one has recently gotten attention thanks to the movie adaptation, A Haunting in Venice hitting the theaters starring Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot.
As a horror fan, I was instantly intrigued by the title, and Christie doesn’t disappoint. Does she ever? A body is found in a tub for bobbing apples and evil spirits are suspected. This one is a fun change from a polite society poisoning. I’m always a fan of a little supernatural intrigue.
When a Halloween Party turns deadly, it falls to Hercule Poirots to unmask a murderer in Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery, Hallowe’en Party.
At a Halloween party, Joyce—a hostile thirteen-year-old—boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub.
That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the `evil presence'. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer...
The Seven Dials Mystery doesn’t get mentioned very often, yet it’s a standout novel.
It lacks her beloved Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot but boasts one of Christie’s most underrated heroines; Eileen “Bundle” Brent. I wish I’d come across more ambitious, brave, young female characters like Bundle as a teenaged bookworm. Bundle does whatever she can to solve a murder, even hiding in the cupboards of a meeting room to catch a veiled group that can only be called a cult.
A healthy young man dies in his sleep, despite the ringing of eight separate alarm clocks...
Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper; so the other house guests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight alarm clocks were set to go off, one after the other, starting at 6.30 a.m. But when morning arrived, one clock was missing and the prank had backfired with tragic consequences.
For Jimmy Thesiger in particular, the words 'Seven Dials' were to take on a new and chilling significance...
The Murder at the Vicarage is the first time we get to meet the iconic Miss Marple.
We get to really see her transition from clever elderly woman to an honorary detective. Like Poirot, Marple has an uncanny ability to read evidence, and is perhaps even better at reading people. In this novel the whole town is suspect, so it takes all her wits to figure out who shot the colonel.
As I learned in Christie’s autobiography, Miss Marple is based on her grandmother, so it's quite poignant to follow Marple’s adventures.
The Murder at the Vicarage is Agatha Christie’s first mystery to feature the beloved investigator Miss Marple—as a dead body in a clergyman’s study proves to the indomitable sleuth that no place, holy or otherwise, is a sanctuary from homicide.
Miss Marple encounters a compelling murder mystery in the sleepy little village of St. Mary Mead, where under the seemingly peaceful exterior of an English country village lurks intrigue, guilt, deception and death.
Colonel Protheroe, local magistrate and overbearing land-owner is the most detested man in the village. Everyone--even in the vicar--wishes he were dead. And very soon he is--shot…
Reading was a childhood passion of mine. My mother was a librarian and got me interested in reading early in life. When John F. Kennedy was running for president and after his assassination, I became intensely interested in politics. In addition to reading history and political biographies, I consumed newspapers and television news. It is this background that I have drawn upon over the decades that has added value to my research.
It didn’t begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.
Long before Trump, each of these phenomena grew in importance. The John Birch Society and McCarthyism became powerful forces; Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first “personal president” to rise above the party; and the development of what Harry Truman called “the big lie,” where outrageous falsehoods came to be believed. Trump…
Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism
It didn't begin with Donald Trump. The unraveling of the Grand Old Party has been decades in the making. Since the time of FDR, the Republican Party has been home to conspiracy thinking, including a belief that lost elections were rigged. And when Republicans later won the White House, the party elevated their presidents to heroic status-a predisposition that eventually posed a threat to democracy. Building on his esteemed 2016 book, What Happened to the Republican Party?, John Kenneth White proposes to explain why this happened-not just the election of Trump but the authoritarian shift in the party as a…
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